Bought another car from Cole yesterday. Drove 230 miles again each way because the first deal went so well.

I recently purchased a Toyota Tacoma from this dealership, and if I hadn't been set on finding a 2023 model with low mileage, I would have walked away from this deal! Living in Northern Virginia, I had my dad check the car out for me initially. While the salesperson was helpful in getting the process started, the experience quickly turned into the worst car-buying ordeal I've ever had. I came prepared with a pre-approved loan from my bank, which is not local. The dealership needed to send some paperwork to the bank in order to finalize the deal and receive the check. However, getting the finance manager to cooperate was like pulling teeth. Despite the process being clearly outlined on the paperwork, they were uncooperative and dismissive. I repeatedly asked for the finance department to call me, but they never did. The salesperson was the only person who responded to me throughout this ordeal. After going back and forth, the finance manager finally called the bank and sent the required paperwork. I thought everything was settled, but two days later, I learned they had failed to send the completed forms back to the bank. Even more frustratingly, they insisted I couldn't take the vehicle until the check was received--yet they delayed the process by not doing their part. When the bank offered to send the check via overnight mail, the dealership told them to send it through regular mail, without even consulting me. This caused a delay of over a week before I could pick up the car. Additionally, I inquired about a sales tax exemption for disabled veterans, which I qualify for. According to the DMV, online dealers should be able to process this paperwork, but the dealership offered no assistance whatsoever. When the check finally arrived, the salesperson called me to pick up the car. Upon arriving, I inspected the vehicle and was ready to sign the paperwork. Shockingly, the finance department didn't even bother to review the documents with me. Instead, they handed everything to the salesperson to manage. This has never happened in any of my previous car purchases. To make matters worse, when some paperwork was overlooked, the finance manager came out, dropped it in front of me without a word, and walked away without even a greeting. After driving off, I noticed the vehicle had over 400 more miles on it than the paperwork indicated. I also reached out to the General Manager Jack Norton about my concerns, and while he promised to call me back the next day, I never heard from him. If you're looking for a welcoming and professional car-buying experience, or if you want to feel valued while spending your hard-earned money, I strongly recommend avoiding this dealership. read more

Cars do not cost less in Martinsville as the Nelson commercial promotes!!! At least not at Nelson! I recently inquired about a new Camry and after requesting a copy of the window sticker I found they are charging $2000 over sticker price! They proclaim in their commercials that they are good neighbors but neighbors do not take advantage during inflationary markets just because they can. Car manufactures are denouncing dealerships continuing to charge over sticker as unethical, yet the practice continues at Nelson and others. Do your research and don't be fooled by the deceptive advertising. There are still dealerships who do the right thing and refuse to charge more than MSRP sticker price. read more

Was unable to crank my car after loaded and got ready to move to another state. Every one in service department was so helpful, including the person towed my car to the dealer. They checked immediately and I was able to drive my car one hour waiting in the shop. I appreciate everyone's friendly and hard work. read more

If you are lookin' for a car locally in Martinsville, VA, hell, even if you aren't local to Martinsville but it's driving distance it's worth taking a trip to Nelson Toyota in Stanleytown, VA and ask for Nick Johnson. Workin' with Nick was an unbelievable experience especially when buyin' a car can be such a daunting experience. My car journey ended up takin' a little over a month and Nick was in there for the long haul. I've never owned a car, the past 35 years I've lived in NYC. Who knew car features had changed so much? It was completely overwhelming tryin' to zero in on a make & model, not to mention what car features I really wanted and which ones would just be 'nice to have.' This even becomes more challenging when buying a used car. The good think about Nick was I never felt like he was tryin' to sell me a car. His knowledge about all car makes & models was off the charts. He asked simple, probing questions that helped me narrow down my search and focus on 2 or 3 key features I really wanted in my car. Nick listened a lot, a whole lot. After asking me questions he'd let me answer and drone on which would revel additional information to him on topics we hadn't even discussed yet. So without tryin' to push information on me, he let me have some of the revelations, which in turn, prompted me to ask him questions. That alone helped give me a sense that I participating in the process and just listenin' to someone tellin' me things they though I wanted to hear so I could just follow blindly. So it was a really GREAT partnership!! In addition to Nick, the great thing about buyin' from a Nelson dealership was their website, AutosByNelson.com. I could search their inventory and select a few cars I wasted to discuss before seein' Nick. I'd email or text him the links the night before and by the time I saw him he had already pre-pulled the paperwork on the cars which made it easy for me to make an informed decision to either test drive it or rule it out based on history details. I ended up testing over 10 cars to get a feel for different makes, models and features. One of the things I liked most about Nick was his dementia and patience (got a wicked sense of humor too). He never made me feel like I was taking too long and when he saw my frustration he kept encouraging me we WOULD find my car. And buyin' from Nelson there's the bonus of access to their whole fleet. Nick was located at Nelson Toyota but he showed me cars at a couple other locations as well. In full disclosure, tryin' to be well-rounded, I did cheat on Nick and went to Blue Ridge Motors one day. I can tell you just steppin' into the dealership the vibe was completely different. The person was very friendly but their knowledge was lacking and their inventory was even confusing to them. They couldn't locate their own cars, didn't know if they were on the lot or at another dealerships. Within minutes we had 2 salesmen hovering over us, now that's what pressure feels like. It only took that 45 minute visit to know that Nick was the salesman for me. So any non-Nelson excursions were no longer considered. With all that said, Nick didn't really end up selling me my car, by askin' me the right questions, listening to me and being patient he ended up guiding me to the right car for me...which is now MY CAR! Way back when we were first discussing features I kept jokin' that I wanted a blue car. I can tell you most used cars are sliver, dark gray, black or red of some kind. My new car is a 2014 Nissan Altima SV and the color is a Dark Blue Metallic. I can't believe it that man got me a damn blue car! And on top of everything else, he ended up selling a car to my sister who had been accompanying me throughout the whole process. Nick Johnson, you done did good! I am a completely satisfied customer! I was so grateful for your can-do attitude, your product knowledge, your patience's and understanding and above all, your customer service. I love my car!!! THANK YOU!!! read more

Stopped in yesterday and was happy with their selection of cars and how they treated me. I'll be coming back here in the near future. The staff is great and never did I feel pressured to buy. Expect to come out happy! read more

I live about 2hrs away from this dealership. I was looking for a specific model which had just come out and was hard to find. They happened to have one which I found through an online search. I called and we tentatively agreed on a price for the vehicle as well as a ballpark on my trade since they would have to see it. I drove up on a Sat and the dealership was small. There were only 4 people working there, 2 salesman, general mgr and the finance guy. I worked with Rusty. I showed up and we went for a quick test drive. They looked at my car and we did the deal. In all honesty I was mentally prepared to drive back in the car I drove up with if they played any games. It was surprisingly one of the easiest car buying experiences. The finance guy didn't even try to pressure me into buying anything I didn't want. Again it was 2 hours away but the drive was easy and pretty scenic. Maybe because they aren't one of those mega dealerships but their whole no BS and no pressure approach was nice. If you're looking for a Toyota and don't mind a little drive I would recommend calling and visiting this dealership. read more